The Rev. Tim Schenck, rector of St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, Mass., looks for God amid domestic chaos

Still time to offer input on Rockford GreenTek charter school

About this blog

Tim Schenck is an Episcopal priest, husband to Bryna, father to Benedict and Zachary, and \x34master\x34 to Delilah (about 50 in dog years). Since 2009 I've been the rector of the Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, Mass. (on the
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Tim Schenck is an Episcopal priest, husband to Bryna, father to Benedict and Zachary, and \x34master\x34 to Delilah (about 50 in dog years). Since 2009 I've been the rector of the Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, Mass. (on the South Shore of Boston). I've also served parishes in Maryland and New York. When I'm not tending to my parish, hanging out with my family, or writing, I can usually be found drinking good coffee -- not that drinking coffee and these other activities are mutually exclusive. I hope you'll visit my website at www.frtim.com to find out more about me, read some excerpts from my book \x34What Size are God's Shoes: Kids, Chaos & the Spiritual Life\x34 (Morehouse, 2008), and check out some recent sermons.

Several students offered the same story Thursday during a public hearing to appeal the Rockford School Board’s decision to reject plans for a new dropout recovery charter school.

The young adults told members of the state’s Charter School Commission that an existing federal program, YouthBuild Rockford, gave them a second chance after they dropped out of a traditional public high school.

The charter school idea, called GreenTek Career Academy Charter School, would be run by the same parent company, Comprehensive Community Solutions. But instead of offering GED and job training, the charter school would offer a traditional high school diploma and focus more on education curriculum.

The success of YouthBuild, however, isn’t the question, said state charter school commissioner Glen Barton.

"You’ve got me sold on YouthBuild," he said.

The trouble lies in selling the charter school idea – and comprehensive plans, curriculum and sound budgeting for the school.

The Rockford School Board rejected the GreenTek plan for a dropout recovery school in September, citing deficiencies for educational programming, problems with the proposed school site, and financial instability with a risk of mixing money with YouthBuild.

Kerry Knodle, Comprehensive Community Solutions executive director, filed the appeal in October with the newly created State Charter School Commission, which has the authority to grant charters that local school districts deny.

Earlier this week, the commission interviewed both the district and charter proposers behind closed doors, and on Thursday, commissioners collected more information from the community and heard statements from the district and charter proposers.

Although a handful of district administrators attended the hearing at the Rockford Public Library, only legal counsel spoke for the district, saying the proposal isn’t economically sound and doesn’t outline ways to serve special education students or English-language learners.

Knodle said whatever issues the administration and board has, they shouldn’t stand in the way of approval or offering such a dropout recovery program to serve Rockford’s youth.

"We recognize that our application is not perfect," Knodle said.

What’s next: A decision on the appeal is set for 3 p.m. Jan. 7. If the panel grants the appeal, it becomes the charter authorizer – instead of the district.

If you couldn’t attend the hearing: The commission will accept written statements through the close of business Monday – email Jeanne Nowaczewski, executive director of the Illinois State Charter School Commission, at Jeanne.Nowaczewski@Illinois.gov.